ENERGY ANALYSIS OF A SOLAR-POWERED HEATING SYSTEM FOR A GREENHOUSE IN THE MARTIAN ENVIRONMENT

Greenhouses are considered critical platforms for developing sustainable living conditions for extraterrestrial environments. The extreme environmental conditions as well as the limitations in energy sources lead to major challenges is the development of proper environments for plant growth in support of manned planetary space missions. The present paper is focused on developing a mathematical model to perform an energy analysis on the heating requirements for a greenhouse in the Martian environment. The extreme cold temperatures and lower amount of solar radiation, as compared to Earth, necessitate the use of the proper heating system for greenhouse in the Martian environment. Energy scarcity, on the other hand, is a crucial factor that must be considered for supplying the heating system in an extra-terrestrial environment. For this study, weather data are obtained from Rover Environmental Monitoring System on board the Curiosity Rover, located near the Gale crater. Using the daily minimum and daily maximum temperature values recorded, a model is developed and the heating load calculation for a greenhouse with a fixed geometry is performed. The amount of energy needed to address the annual heating demands is determined. The available solar radiation for solar power generation using photovoltaic panels for a period of one Martian year (668 Sols) is also evaluated. Several atmospheric parameters are taken into consideration, and the seasonal variations of solar irradiance are studied. The size of a solar photovoltaic array for addressing the energy demands of the heating system is calculated accordingly. Several other parameters including solar panel efficiency, solar cell temperature based on the ambient conditions and wind velocity and the effects of extreme temperature conditions on solar cell degradation are discussed. The results from this study can be used to help with addressing the potential challenges to support sustainable living conditions in extra-terrestrial environmental conditions.